This was Lola and my third year in the Main Street Parade. The first year it snowed, the second year it rained, but this year the weather was perfect. I think that Lola may actually be getting the hang of it too!. We had a fabulous day with Ashley & Pippa, Phil & Fritz, and especially Nic & Boggie!
Thanks to my mom for getting us the custom made monkey hats.
On August 9th, I got a call from someone that I know regarding 50 pugs that needed homes. She had heard through various sources that these pugs were in a hoarding situation and needed rescue. Needless to say, I put the word out to my pug rescue contacts and went to bed in tears. The next day was a series of phone calls, text messages, and emails. So many local and regional rescue groups stepped in for assistance and to foster the dogs. After it was all said and done, it was only 4 pure bred pugs and the rest were other breeds and mixed breed dogs. One of the pugs went to Atlanta to a rescue group; K-911. SEPRA accepted the other three. Two of the little girls, Etta and Pippa, came to stay with us until we could get them to Alabama into a foster home. Manny was the only boy and he stayed with us for 3 weeks until he was able to get on a transport to Albany, NY. These pugs were remarkably well socialized and wanted so badly to be next to people and receive love and affection. Medically, Manny only suffered from open sores probably due to scratching at fleas. The girls are not so fortunate; all three of them have some back issues that will need to be evaluated. This comes on the heels of another hoarding situation where pugs and Boston Terriers were removed from a property in Georgia. SouthEast Pug Rescue and Adoption took in 4 of the pugs which face months of medical rehabilitation. I’ve seen episodes of animal hoarding on TV, and although horrifying, you are watching it from the comfort of your couch with your animals that are well cared for. In real life, someone has to pick up the pieces and put the dogs back together. If you are aware of a hoarding situation, please contact your local authorities and animal shelter. The sooner; the better. For donations for these pugs and other needy pugs, please visit SouthEast Pug Rescue and Adoption at www.rescuepug.com
Etta
Manny
On Saturday, Bruce broke loose from jail. Okay, it was not jail and he didn’t do anything but wag his tail. Volunteers from two states came together to rescue him. Bruce was turned into a local shelter because his family could not afford to take care of him. Sadly he is heart worm positive and the treatment can be very expensive. McKamey Animal Care & Adoption Center contacted Southeast Pug Rescue to see if we had a spot for Bruce. So with a lot of emails, a lot of planning, and a lot of miles, Bruce was safely transport to a foster home where he will be loved and cared for until he can get a clean bill of health.
Thanks to Trish, Tori, Susan, and Pat for helping to rescue this guy.
A local dog group organized a St. Pawtrick’s Day Parade along the river front. We have a great pug showing and it could have become a St. Pugtrick’s Day Parade. It was an absolutely beautiful day and there were probably over 100 dogs in all.
My favorite Chihuahua was there-Pasha! I snuck in a pet before she was able to bite me.
Along our parade route, we saw a pug and a min-pin on a balcony. They were barking like crazy at us. We would yell for the dogs to go get their mom & dad; and they would run inside barking and then run back out on the balcony. The owners never came outside though.
So it has taken me about a week to write the final installment in my experience with the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Big Hearts Build. When then limo pulled up with the Sharrock family and we all shouted Move That Bus, it was pretty emotional. The family was so happy and had such huge smiles on their faces that it just rocks you to your core. It was such an unbelievable 7 days! If you are ever able to volunteer for EMHE, do it! It is such a rewarding experience.
I got back on Friday and it felt like I’d only been gone a couple of hours. Oh wait; it had only been a couple of hours. Not a lot has changed to the naked eye. Most of the work being done today it detail work inside and exterior landscaping. I wasn’t able to get very many photos today. You couldn’t walk across the front of the house because they were finishing up the concrete work, you couldn’t walk across the back of the house because they were finishing the retaining wall and installing pavers, so that left inside and people were literally climbing over each other. I got a couple of shots of the general site. Pretty much at this point, I am so tired that I could not concentrate to get creative photos.
February 17th to Februay 18th. This photo pretty much sums up the whole day for me. I did not leave until 3:30am on Friday morning and had been on site off and on for 14hrs. This was the last thing that we saw when we were walking from the site and it struck me as hilarious and cartoonish like someone would walk by and slip on a banana peel. I don’t have a whole lot of pictures from today/tonight because I was mostly getting pictures of some of the vendors who were installing equipment.
I got onsite Wednesday morning (Day 4) at 5:00am! Yes, you heard me. I was freaking out with excitement when I saw the framing had been done and the final trusses were going up. I have been there since the beginning, but it was kind of emotional to see a house being built as the sun was rising. I am so lucky to be part of a company that sees value in the community and them allowing me to be a part of this effort to give an ever lasting gift to a very special family.
So on day 3, which was Tuesday, there was a lot of earth being moved. I got to the site expecting a house, but the previous night’s grading provided some water & sewer challenges. They were still bringing in the pre-fabricated foundation walls. Even though it seemed like things were moving at a snail’s pace; there were so many people there to support the builders, volunteers, and the family. I only stayed a couple of hours so I did not get that many pictures.
Happy Valentine’s Day Ty! Thanks for having a great heart and spending it with us in Northwest Georgia. Ty was on site staging a scene with some volunteers. This photo was of him and the producers reviewing the clip. It was day two of the build and I missed the demo of the house, but there was still plenty of activity around the cleanup of all the debris. I tried to get more photos of the general area that it encompasses. It is really hard to imagine everything that is going on at one time. Click on the photos to be taken to my flickr page with all the pictures from today.
I got to the site at about 4:00pm and packed up to go home at about 9:30pm.
